OMM Newsroom
Russia has agreed to cooperate with Ghana on building a 2,000 MW nuclear power plant, AnewZ reported. Ghana’s Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said this on Saturday.
According to information Ablakwa posted on the social media platform X, the project is intended to strengthen energy security and support industrialization. The agreement followed talks between Ghanaian President John Mahama and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow.
A day before the announcement, Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom said it was in talks with four African countries, including Ghana, on major nuclear energy projects.
Ablakwa said the nuclear power plant project revives the vision of Ghana’s first president, Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah. Nkrumah had begun preparatory work on the project, he said, but it was halted after the coup of February 28, 1966.
The parties also agreed on a new defense agreement envisaging the acquisition of strategic military equipment for the Ghana Armed Forces. According to Ablakwa, Putin said Ghanaian citizens would not be allowed to take part in the war against Ukraine, including through illegal recruitment or by volunteering.
The agreements also include expanding agricultural cooperation, increasing grain production and fertilizer supplies, and providing more scholarships for Ghanaian students studying in Russia. Ablakwa said Ghana ranks second among African countries in the number of students studying in Russia.
Ghana and Russia will also revive their Joint Permanent Commission for Cooperation. Ablakwa said Moscow was ready to host the commission’s next meeting in the coming weeks. The two countries have maintained formal bilateral relations since 1958.
First held in 2019, the Russia-Africa Summit is part of Moscow’s efforts to expand economic ties with Africa through energy cooperation.
